 |
  |
| UC Home | Courses | Departments | Library | Teaching | Research | Students | Contacts | Search | |
 |
|
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
||
UC student sets sail on international cultural missionPublished by the Communications and Development Department
20 December 2004
University of Canterbury student Wook Jin Lee is among 12 talented young Kiwis taking to the high seas next month as part of a cultural exchange with a difference.
Korean-born Wook Jin will represent New Zealand on the 2005 Ship for World Youth (SWY), a unique floating international exchange programme aimed at developing future leaders and promoting friendship and understanding between young people from around the world.
Sponsored by the Japanese Government, 264 young people from 13 countries, including Japan, Canada, Australia, Mexico, Poland, Turkey, the United States, Venezuela, Mauritius, Kenya, Fiji, Costa Rica and New Zealand will take part in the two-month voyage on the Nippon Maru, which leaves Yokohama on 19 January.
“I see the Ship for World Youth as an ideal way to broaden my international perspective and meet other like-minded young people from around the world,” says Wook Jin, who is the sole South Islander in the Kiwi contingent.
“I’m eager to share my experiences and hopefully inspire others to make the most of such opportunities whenever they arise.”
Twenty-year-old Wook Jin, who also speaks Korean and Japanese, is studying law and political science at Canterbury University. International missions are not foreign territory to this young ambassador as while at Christ’s College he led a school expedition to Nepal in 2002 to build a school extension for local children.
The SWY programme aims to break down international barriers by involving participants in various on-board activities, including lectures on global issues, seminars, sports and cultural exchanges.
Japanese Ambassador Masaki Saito will be among those to welcome the Nippon Maru when it docks in Wellington for the first time on 10 February for one of it’s international ports-of-call. During their four-day stay, the SWY delegates will visit city attractions, meet with local families, talk to schools and attend a national leadership forum with the Governor General. The ship will also make similar stops in Sydney and Suva.
Prime Minister Helen Clark says she had been privileged to travel to Japan on the forerunner of SWY programme, the Japanese Youth Goodwill Cruise Programme in 1975.
“It was a wonderful way for me as a young New Zealander to learn more about Japan, and I hope that future participants will be able to use the knowledge gained from their experiences.”
The New Zealand delegates were selected by the Ministry of Youth Development and the SWY Alumni Association of New Zealand in consultation with the Japanese Embassy. The Association is made up of former SWY participants, of which Miss Clark is also patron.
For further information please contact:
|
